I know this is probably a bit of a daft question, but, I have made sure that I have kept educated on as much as I can to make sure that this quit is successful...but, Im really worried about month 3.

Ive read, countless times, that the "3's" can be awful, as in day 3, week 3 and month 3....so is month 3 worse than day and week 3? Is it normal to worry about it? Or is worrying where ill find my strength??

Im in month 2, and although im enjoying my quit, indeed I still get a buzz from it, Ive found that I am nervous about approaching month 3. Any advice??? :(:confused:

13 Replies

I don't think you need to be worried - everone's quit is different. I don't think month 3 was too bad at all for me. Day 3 and week 3 were pretty bad, but not month 3. I think that's just psychological as the nicotine will have usually left by then unless you are on NRT. Also those on NRT usual come off it around 3 months which might be why some find it harder than others?

See, I have been using the NRT, and Ive been lowered already to the step 2 part (a week early) so I know ive only got about 4 weeks left of NRT, so maybe that is it? Maybe Im just worried about the "final stand", as in its 3 months and no NRT??

I still find all of this exciting so Im going to follow your advice, and just flow along with it. I think because I feel ive done well, I have this little fear of failing. Does everyone get that? I suppose we all do dont we, have that little niggle, cos its that niggle we fight!? Think im making sense as I type really lol!

Hi magicmom ...im feeling pretty much the same as you...dreading month 3 as that's when I failed last time!!...Im on NRT too (patches),I stayed on the higher patches 2wks extra... and have gone down to the lower 14 strength today but so far so good..we will just have to be strong

It is worrying though isn't it!? I thought I was going do-lally to be fair...

I found I could go a good 3-5 hours per day (not including overnight as I cant wear them, my nightmares were horrendous!) without wearing a patch at all, so "My Boss" lowered me to 14mg on Friday to start Saturday. It was just that id read so many times about the 3 month thing and its just got me worried a bit.

Im sure we will be fine though....onwards and upwards...we have the Penthouse to enjoy!!

Hi magicmom....lol yes it is worrying and didnt want you to think you were on your own in doing so....My patch comes off a couple of hours before bed time because of the dreams, but they are not so bad now, but the main reason is because i have trouble going to sleep..

I think this is a myth, I've heard the same thing about the 6 too. I'm just about done with month 4 so I'm pretty familiar with month three. To answer your questions:

No, month 3 is not harder than week 3 and certainly not day 3.

This is not something to worry about, time is irrelevant when your goal is... smoke free forever!

You are strong and can stay quit! The triggers are not going to go away any time soon, but they should be easy to brush aside.

The biggest thing I would worry about is convincing yourself that it is easy and you have control over your addiction and can have a smoke or two now. This is just a clever trick that nicotine uses. Go back and read some of the new posters in forums for the first couple of weeks and remind yourself how hard it was and how far you have come.

I know this is probably a bit of a daft question, but, I have made sure that I have kept educated on as much as I can to make sure that this quit is successful...but, Im really worried about month 3.

Ive read, countless times, that the "3's" can be awful, as in day 3, week 3 and month 3....so is month 3 worse than day and week 3? Is it normal to worry about it? Or is worrying where ill find my strength??

Im in month 2, and although im enjoying my quit, indeed I still get a buzz from it, Ive found that I am nervous about approaching month 3. Any advice??? :(:confused:

Personally I don't think the 3's are a myth per se, the whole of month 3 can't be one constant crave as none of us would quit, I think the issue is you are soooooooooo happy, and relieved by week 12 to get this far that any serious craving hits you hard, therefore the perception is month 3 is a toughie. As long as you are ready to deal with any last minute attack by the monster I honestly believe once this "period" has passed the rest is totally within your capabilities. Good luck, just remember, this is what you want

I'll echo what others have said. There is no point in being worried about it. It's best to just plow on with your quit. But be prepared for any sneaky thoughts/craves which may occur. You are doing well

I do feel a little bit better using this forum and talking to my partner (who is a smoker still!) last night. I think ive lost my way a little, and although ive no intentions of quitting the quit, I just need to concentrate a little more on the path. The most important thing for me is to be smoke free and stay smoke free for the rest of my life (which is now 4 days and 10 hours longer!). Im not sure why or of any reason, but my confidence is myself achieving this seems to have taken a slight knock :confused: